I was in Plymouth, UK at the time on a 3-month in-service course…and other than the two in London, I also went to see “Singing in the rain” in the city itself. The trouble was usually, they would try out the new musicals in the smaller cities before they moved to London, so one would get to see the dancers forgetting their steps or dancing out of time, or some of the cast dropping things they were not supposed to drop and things like that. I was lucky because the following night, the pump malfunctioned and they could not drain away the “rain” water, so it flooded the stage and overflowed into the orchestral pit. The headline in the local papers the next day read, “Swimming in the rain!!” …Well, I never saw the movie (1952! I wasn’t born till December that year!) and I don’t even like the title song that much…so at best, it was aye yor!! It was aye!!! (Good Lord! Been watching too much “American Idol! LOL!!!)
It wasn’t till over another decade or so later in 2006 that I saw yet another musical. I was on holiday in Singapore and I told my daughter I would bring her to see a musical for that “theatre experience”. She was not keen at first…but after much persuasion, she gave in and we went to see…..
From www.mamma-mia.com
That’s right! We saw “Mamma Mia” which was supposed to be staged in KL but it was banned because some people thought it was immoral for a woman to have three possible husbands! Well, we were lucky because it was the final week already…so off we went to the Esplanade!!!!
We enjoyed ourselves tremendously; my daughter was thrilled, to say the least…but I was a wee bit disappointed because they had people moving the props around! I guess they could not bring over all the machines and what not. That aside, it was an entertaining show and the main attraction, of course, was the songs by ABBA!!! For the grand finale at the end, they had a medley of ABBA’s songs and everyone was clapping and singing along…and some were on their feet, dancing away (Nope! Not me! Didn’t wanna bring that durian-like building down!!!)!
They will be releasing the movie sometime this year. I have seen the trailer but somehow, I do not think it is as nice as the stage version. And of all the people, they have Meryl Streep as the mother…and the aging Pierce Brosnan!!! Well, beggars can’t be choosers, I guess…so those of you who missed the stage musical, I bet you will enjoy yourself…especially if you’re a fan of ABBA. In the meantime, here’s something for the ladies…
From www.mamma-mia.com
Ok…line up! Line up! Take your pick! One by one please! Angeles!! Kopisoh!!! Wait for your turn…LOL!!!
And I guess this will an apt closing to the post, so everybody, altogether now!!!…Thank you for the music, the songs we’re singing. Thanks for all the joy bringing. Who can live without it, I ask in all honesty? What would life be? Without a song or dance what are we? So I say…thank you for the music, for bringing it to me. (CURTAIN)
...STILL CRAZY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS! 